Welcome to our first Farmer Spotlight! Today, we're excited to share an inspiring interview with one of our dedicated customers, Amanda, who reveals the challenges and triumphs of modern farming. Join us as we dive into their story and uncover valuable insights for farmers everywhere.
Can you describe your farm and the type of agriculture you specialize in?
My husband, Jared and I, along with our seven children (six sons and one daughter) run a small farm of 900 acres. We grow a variety of cash crops, including corn, soybeans, winter wheat, rye, and hay.
Four of our children also have a small beef herd, and we hope to grow that herd in the near future.
How long have you been farming, and what inspired you to get into agriculture?
Jared grew up around beef cattle on his family's acreage. His Uncle had a dairy farm down the road and he spent some time there. I grew up on a cash crop farm and my dad raised replacement heifers at the time.
Neither of us had plans to go into farming– Jared worked construction over the road and I wanted to be a wife and mom.
Jared's work took him away from home often. For a while we worked overseas as missionaries where Jared served as a construction supervisor. When we came back to the states, we knew we didn't want to go back to him being away from the family on a regular basis. Then my dad offered him a job working on the farm for him.
Jared quickly realized he wanted to go all in and farm with him, and eventually on his own.
He had a vision for our family to be able to learn together, work together, play together and live daily life together. It took me a little longer to catch his vision because I remembered from my childhood the difficulties that cash cropping can bring, but it didn't take long for me to see what he had in mind once we got started. We have been farming full time as a family for 8 years now.
Could you share a success story or achievement that you're particularly proud of?
When we started farming Jared had to do remodeling jobs on the side to make ends meet. I did little side jobs here and there but because we educate our children at home, that was my main priority.
In 2019 we began working towards our goal of not needing to take side jobs anymore.
We started renting more land and were able to purchase our first 80 acres. It meant working long hours and making some sacrifices in other areas, like not having the nicest looking equipment, or skipping a vacation.
In 2021 we were able to start turning down remodeling jobs and farming was the only income supporting our family. In the back of our mind we had desired to purchase the "family farm" from his Uncle. (His grandparents farmed it before his Uncle) But that seemed like an impossible dream.
In July of 2023, through some pretty trying and yet miraculous events, we were able to purchase that farm. We are so grateful everytime we look around and see our hard work paying off.
How do you incorporate sustainable practices into your farming operations?
We started to learn about no-till farming shortly after we decided to rent some land of our own. We could see how traditional farming can take precious resources out of the soil and no-till made sense to us.
All of our land is in no-till practice. Not only does it add precious resources and nutrients back into the soil, we also don't use as much fuel because we don’t do any tillage.
What advice would you give to new farmers starting out in the industry today?
Farming is hard work. It's long hours for not a lot of pay sometimes. Your life won't look "normal." Your schedule will change with the weather. Some days you will wonder what you've gotten yourself into.
Don't be discouraged by the difficulties you face. The independence that comes from farming is worth it. The time spent together as a family is worth it. The beauty of caring for the land and the animals on your farm is worth it.
In a world where destruction runs rampant we, as farmers, get to be life givers through our work.
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